According to TASS, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said that Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant will cease operations from August 2nd (local time) due to the Danube River water level falling to a record low due to prolonged heat waves.
On his personal Facebook page, Mr. Magyar wrote: "After the penultimate unit of the plant stopped operating, the power generation capacity was only 240 MW. By the morning of August 2, for the first time in 44 years since going into operation, the entire Paks nuclear power plant will have to stop operating.
Previously, the Hungarian Prime Minister warned that the Paks nuclear power plant could have to stop operating for many weeks due to drought - affecting the cooling system of reactors. Initially, the plant was expected to stop operating on August 3.
Extreme heat and prolonged drought in Central Europe have caused the water level of the Danube River to fall to an unprecedented low. Hungarian Minister of Economy and Energy Istvan Kapitany said that the current serious water shortage is an unprecedented phenomenon in this country.
